The Significance of Living a Legacy Centered Life

As you read this, we have officially entered into August. More importantly, I am a few weeks away from celebrating another birthday. It seems that the older I get the faster the time is going. I just buried my grandfather last weekend and it has really had me thinking about life and legacy. I am going to truly miss my grandfather. I learned a lot from him and I will carry those lessons throughout my life. More than the lessons, I am so glad that he left memories and experiences that will live on for generations to come. Our lives never really end. I have discovered that when this life is over our lives will continue to speak. Will your life speak in a positive or negative way? Truthfully, how your life speaks will be the result of how you honor the moments of your life.

1. Stop buying into the lie that time is on your side. The reality is that time is not on our side. Every day of our lives we are getting older and hopefully, we are gaining wisdom and maturing. The reality is that time waits on no man. Time is the only non-renewable resource on the planet. What does that mean? It means that time is the one thing we cannot get back. It does not matter our pedigree or historicity. No man has the power to defy or manipulate time. Since time cannot be manipulated, it behooves us to use time as a tool. Time is designed to facilitate the fulfillment of your purpose and the maximization of your potential. Are you valuing the gift of time or are you wasting time pursuing vanity? We are all given the same twenty-four hours. However, how you spend your time will shape your legacy. Time will serve the man that values it and will be the slave of the man that chooses to dishonor it.
2. Stop making excuses for not really living. As I stated before, my grandfather just passed and I have been reminded again of how brief life really is. I wasted a lot of years of my life paralyzed by fear and afraid to embrace my prophetic future. I made excuses for why I could not do certain things and why I could not have certain things. However, one day I had a wake-up call and it shook me to my core. I realized that my inaction was influencing my destiny. My inability to make a decision was negatively impacting my future. More importantly, time was not going to reward me for being passive and unproductive. So I made a decision that I was going to stop making excuses and start executing on my goals. Excuses are nothing more than the lies that we tell ourselves to accommodate a life of limitations and boundaries. Excuses empower our failure and endanger our futures. It is time for you to stop making excuses and start living. Pursue your goals, manifest your dreams and dare to live beyond your limits. You were not created to just exist. You were created to thrive!
3. You have to show up every single day of your life. Unfortunately, a lot of people are breathing but they are not really alive. You have to be present in every moment of your life. How do you know you are not present? If you are giving your past any present moments of your life, then you are not truly present. The proof that you honor the present moment of your life is that you have chosen to leave the past behind you. More importantly, showing up in life means pressing and pursuing what is possible for your life. I have discovered over the years that breakthrough is possible but not many people are willing to pursue breakthrough. Refuse to live another day of your life absent and start living with greater awareness. Show up to every moment prepared and ready to seize every opportunity that comes your way. Honor your potential by refusing to be hijacked by your past.
4. Realize that every moment of your life is creating your legacy. Too often we limit legacy to an event. What we fail to realize is that legacy is the culmination of all of our life experiences. Legacy is shaped by how you live in every single moment. Your legacy is every word you have spoken, every deed you have done, every relationship, every adversity, every triumph, every defeat, and every life you touch. When you realize that your legacy is much bigger than your work, you will be very intentional about how you live your life. You will realize that every moment has meaning and every second has significance. You will choose to love instead of hate, forgiveness instead of bitterness, faith instead of fear and freedom over oppression. This journey has taught me that our choices create our lives. As I prepare to celebrate another birthday, I choose to live with a legacy centered focus. I understand that my life is so much bigger than me. My life is a seed that will speak for generations to come.